When confronted by transformative disruptive technology such as Cloud, how can senior business and IT executives identify opportunities to leverage technology to create new business value? As part of Saugatuck Technology's ongoing "Executive Insights" research program, we recently talked with John Schloff, VP Global Strategy at Pitney Bowes about how an industry leader such as Pitney Bowes embraces disruptive technology to create, innovate, and extend a major business brand in the Cloud.

Cloud computing promises to be a broadly disruptive technology wave, changing the way companies relate to their customers. As it matures over the next few years, unease with the term cloud computing will disappear, and this disruption will become known as the cloud revolution.

Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has often said that 70 percent of IT cost and effort is attributed to the "muck," the heavy lifting that is so critical, but undifferentiated in delivering value. Application complexity is the next barrier to clear in order to rise from the muck.

The resignation of Leo Apotheker as CEO of SAP is the latest example of the escalating pressures facing legacy software executives as the industry undergoes fundamental and traumatic changes driven by rapidly changing customer preferences and intensifying competition. ISVs that can clear away the complexities, and create simpler solutions and go-to-market strategies will be in the best position to survive and thrive in the coming decade.